Azaleas

It was Mother’s Day. We are on the West Coast in the middle of our Pacific Coast exploration and our kids are on the East Coast. It was up to me to spoil Peggy. I started out by cooking her sourdough French toast topped off with butter and maple syrup, accompanied by sausage. Then it was time for the flowers.

So I took Peggy to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens where there were lots of them. It is south of Fort Bragg about 10 minutes away from where we were camped on the Noyo River. The azaleas were in full bloom. Plus there were lots of other flowers, such as the beauty below. Note: This is the most photos I have ever posted on one blog. I kept the words to a minimum. It goes fast! I promise— unless you want to linger. Grin.

The garden covers 40 acres with numerous paths leading through woodlands, wetlands and along the coast. There was even a desert section.

As I noted, the azaleas were in full bloom. And beautiful. Peggy and I were kept busy with our cameras.

The azaleas came in numerous sizes, colors and even shapes.

And now for other plants. This was in the desert collection. Strangely beautiful.

Its companion. Note the yellow flower on the right…

But what is stranger than a Venus flytrap?

Not sure what this is, but it felt a bit Jurassic. (Peggy and I were at Fern Canyon in the Redwoods on Tuesday where a portion of the original Jurassic Park movie was filmed.)

Also cascading: foxglove. We grew them in Oregon because the deer weren’t supposed to eat them. Every day they would come by, sample a bloom, and spit it out. Stubborn!

A poppy refused to come out because it was overcast and cold.

And at least two pieces of impressive drift wood.

This gate led to a vegetable garden. Other than being artistic, its purpose was to keep the deer out!

Just inside was a burbling brook with this sign posted on it— a polite way to ask visitors not to throw coins in the water. A not so polite sign in the vegetable garden directed visitors to keep their dogs from peeing on the vegetables.

Fun greenhouse (or tool shed) at the vegetable garden.

The Botanical Garden also includes a section of the dramatic Mendocino Coast. We included it in our hike. There were more flowers, of course.

The trail led us right along the edge of the ocean.

Some of the ground was carpeted by tiny yellow flowers so tiny they were indistinct…

We normally take photos of poppies to emphasize the flowers. This time, it was the leaves.

I’ll conclude today with colorful rock that was towering over the others in the small bay. I was pondering what it reminded me of. “It’s Buddha,” Peggy declared. It was the Buddha of the Bay. On Monday, we will explore more of the Mendocino Coast including the headlands outside of the town of Mendocino and Fort Bragg’s famous Glass Beach.

Many years ago, before such activities became unthinkable, not to mention illegal, this section of the beach in Fort Bragg served as a dump. Time has ground the glass to the point where it fits right in with the pebbles and seashells. In a quick perusal, I counted over 30 pieces in this small section.

Rododendron at Shore Acres State Park, Oregon

Rhododendrons and azaleas add splashes of color to the Oregon Coast in Spring. These beauties are found at Shore Acres State Park near Coos Bay, Oregon.

Peggy and I just returned from a five-day trip to the coast. One of our goals as new residents here in Oregon is to explore the state. We’ve gotten off to a slow start. Little things like trips to Europe, Mexico, Burning Man, Las Vegas and Hawaii, not to mention settling into our new home, have gotten in the way. (Grin)

We bit the bullet on Wednesday, packed up Quivera, and hit the road. Quivera, BTW, is the 22-foot van we wandered in for three years. The name derives from a lost Indian city that never stays in the same place. I think it is somewhere out in Kansas now with Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. (We named our first van Xanadu. Peg and I like exotic.)

Our 22-foot van, Quivera, waits patiently for us at Cape Arago, just south of Sunset Bay, Oregon.

Our destination for this trip was Sunset Bay State Park near Coos Bay, Oregon. Our objective was to see whales, the massive Grays that make their way north along the Pacific Coast each spring. We weren’t disappointed. Likewise, as always, we enjoyed the scenic beauty of the Northwest’s famous rugged coastline. I’ll blog about both on Friday. (Next week I will return to Florence and Barcelona.)

For today and Wednesday, I want to write about two surprises. The first is some drop-dead gorgeous flowers. The second is tree roots. Be prepared to enter a fantasy world on the latter. Heck, be prepared to enter a fantasy world with both.

We can thank a lumber baron for the blossoms. Louis Simpson built a mansion on the bluffs south of Sunset Bay. Then he built a flower garden. He lost his fortune during the Great Depression and Oregon had the foresight to acquire both. Eventually, the mansion had to be torn down, but the flower garden still stands as part of Shore Acres State Park. Some 5000 annuals/perennials bloom between May and September.

We arrived at the height of rhododendron-azalea season. (The Internet informs me that all azaleas are rhododendrons but not all rhododendrons are azaleas.) Enjoy!

A small section of the flowers at Shore Acres State Park Botanical Garden on the Oregon Coast. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)

Shore Acres Botanical Garden, Coos Bay, Oregon

Rhododendron at Shore Acres State Park.

The rhododendrons and azaleas were in full bloom at Shore Acres State Park on the Oregon Coast.

These Azaleas/Rhododendrons displayed one of many colors and shapes on display at Shore Acres State Park.

These azaleas displayed one of many colors and shapes on display at Shore Acres State Park.

Rhododendrons at Shore Acres State Park in Oregon.

Azaleas at Shore Acres State Park in Oregon.

Peggy caught the riotous colors of the rhododendrons in this photo. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

Rhododendron at Shore Acres State Park in Oregon

I loved the delicate colors and blushing pink of these rhododendrons.

Rhododendrons in mass at Shore Acres State Park.

A bouquet of red. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)

Violet rhododendrons at Shore Acres State Park in Oregon.

Blue Rhododendrons at Shore Acres State Park, Oregon

A touch of blue.

Almost white… (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)

Flowers were also in abundance outside of the Shore Acres’ gardens. I found this bright yellow monkey flower at Sunset Bay State Park.

Rhododendrons at Sunset Bay State park in Oregon

And these pink beauties with their sprightly green leaves were living in our campsite.

NEXT BLOG: Some absolutely wild tree roots on the Oregon coast. Meet the Dragon!

Wandering through Time and Place

Exploring the world with Curtis and Peggy Mekemson

Gorgeous Azaleas, Plus: Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens… The Pacific Coast Series #9

Sunset Bay, Oregon… A World of Whales, Waves and Wacky Roots… Plus Flowers